Chapter 271: One Hundred Thousand

"You stay here—I'll go check the situation myself!"

Zhang Su couldn't sit still; he decided to find a high point to see how the Green Dragon Corps was faring.

"Brother Su, don't go—it's too dangerous!"

Qi Xiaoshuai urgently tried to stop him.

"Yeah, the fighting's too fierce right now, nothing to look at—wait till it calms down!" Zheng Xinyu pulled at Zhang Su.

"A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall, Mr. Zhang—be cautious!" Yu Wen also watched Zhang Su with deep concern.

He knew intelligence was important, but the leader's safety mattered more!

Facing everyone's objections, Zhang Su clicked his tongue, swept his gaze across the area, and pointed: "I'm not going to the camp—I'll just climb to the top of Huahui Mall to take a look. Don't worry, I'm not stupid… Anyone bored can come with me."

As he spoke, his heart gave a slight jolt—he'd blurted out "Huahui Mall" without thinking, the words hidden in the dark; luckily, everyone was too agitated to notice the detail…

"Brother Su, wait for me—I'm coming!"

Picking up gear along the way, the group quickly reached the rooftop.

"Damn, the Green Dragon Corps is done for!"

Zhang Su hung the steel rod back at his waist, stepped into the mall, and swept his flashlight around—the interior was just as chaotic as the big malls in Qincheng.

Four or five others quickly followed behind.

"I'm coming too…"

"Hey, this place is surprisingly clean."

Lu Yu bo glanced around and spotted some unopened thermal underwear on the floor; he immediately called out to the group, snatched them up, and stuffed them into their bags.

"Ha, big brother, doesn't this count as indirectly helping the Green Dragon Corps eliminate some zombies?"

"Yeah, their spirits in heaven will bless you…"

Zhang Su turned urgently toward the Green Dragon Corps' direction; it had taken nearly fifteen minutes to get from the parking spot to the rooftop, and their numbers had dropped by another ten—he needed to know why the losses were accelerating so fast!

As they moved through alleys toward the mall, perhaps the artillery fire had drawn out zombies hiding inside—over twenty staggered out slowly, shuffling toward the exits.

"Hey, there's still some stuff here—come quick…"

Lu Yu bo had been itching to see action; hearing there was something to watch, he became eager.

"Stick close—I don't know if some sixth-wheelers are still stuck inside; don't wander off!"

"Duh, we're this close to the Green Dragon Corps—would you leave anything behind if it were you?"

"And me."

Zhao Dezhu grinned.

Without even needing binoculars, Zhang Su saw the direction of the flames and froze in horror.

After giving a brief instruction, Zhang Su led the way.

Passing the second-floor clothing section, his flashlight revealed every store spotless—naked mannequins lay shattered in broken display windows, eerie in the dim light.

When they met head-on, Zhang Su and his group didn't hold back; they fought while retreating, stabbing relentlessly until all the zombies were dead.

"What's wrong, Brother Su?" Lu Yu bo asked curiously.

Zhang Su raised his binoculars, double-zoomed—and the military camp two kilometers away appeared as if only thirty to forty meters ahead; the battle was laid bare before him, yet the zombies outnumbered what his eyes could encompass!

Countless zombies, a vast, seething mass, piled endlessly against the outer walls, inducing a suffocating dread!

"One hundred thousand!"

"What?"

"I'm saying this horde must be one hundred thousand strong!"

"Hss…"

Hearing Zhang Su's estimate, everyone involuntarily drew in a sharp breath, their chests and lungs turning icy.

One hundred thousand was just a cold number—but facing such a quantity of zombies, most people would lose the courage even to pick up a weapon.

He didn't know why the Green Dragon Corps hadn't drawn off part of the horde earlier—or whether this was even the reduced size after some had already been lured away…

If it were merely sheer numbers, they could still use defensive structures to pick them off—after all, the corps had ample firepower, bullets and shells in abundance—but if the zombies were set ablaze…

A vast swarm of zombies burned fiercely; black figures writhed madly within the roaring flames.

Each burning zombie moved like a man doped with stimulants, mercilessly climbing over their own kind; the ladder of burning corpses swelled and heaved, as if about to collapse—but it held firm.

On the reinforced walls, machine gun barrels glowed red and smoked, struggling desperately to hold back the zombie tide!

As Zhang Su watched through the binoculars, he saw over twenty zombie corpses piled before a machine gun—yet in the instant the gunner reloaded, several burning zombies lunged forward, knocking the operator off the wall; at the same moment, the number in his mind dropped by one more…

Just as he thought a breach had opened and the wall's defense would collapse, someone stepped in with a rifle, taking the machine gun's place and holding the wall—sealing the gap with sheer will.

Zhang Su lowered the binoculars; seeing his companions waiting for his report, he shook his head: "The Green Dragon Corps is doomed—the zombies have set a huge area ablaze!"

"That whole burning area… are they all zombies?"

Zhao Dezhu pointed grimly toward the distance.

The others also wore grim expressions.

Anyone who'd seen the power of burning zombies feared them.

Everyone knew zombies would die soon after catching fire—but it was precisely that interval between ignition and death that inflicted unimaginable damage on humans!

The fire hadn't fully spread yet, and the zombies behind, unable to press forward, were dispersing to the sides—inevitably surrounding the camp on its north, south, and west sides; with the Green Dragon Corps' remaining strength, resistance seemed impossible…

"Brother Su, what's the plan? Should we take advantage of the chaos?"

Lu Yu bo's face was cold and sharp.

No one thought this was wrong—it was the end times, not a peaceful era of politics.

Zhang Su slowly shook his head: "We don't even need to lift a finger—the Green Dragon Corps won't survive this."

Others could only guess; he knew clearly— as the fire spread, more and more zombies would ignite, and by then, the Green Dragon Corps' remaining survivors wouldn't be enough to kill them all!

If the Green Dragon Corps had no other trump cards, their destruction was merely a matter of time.

"It can't be that bad…"

Lu Yu bo found it hard to believe—he very much wanted to personally join the assault on the Green Dragon Corps, not let the zombies do it all.

"Drones! Drones are launching…"

Zhang Su saw five or six drones rise from the camp, circling above the horde; two dropped bombs—BOOM! explosions erupted in the zombie mass like flowers blooming across the earth.

The remaining drones circled aimlessly in the air, doing nothing obvious—like putting on a clumsy light show for the zombies; after the explosions, they all flew back to camp, presumably preparing for a second strike.

He handed the binoculars to those beside him: "Take turns looking—remember, when fighting zombies, be careful with fire. Burning zombies are terrifyingly strong!"

Unless your firepower is overwhelming enough to annihilate every incoming zombie, never use fire—once the horde ignites, you face mutual annihilation.

On Tianmayu, with terrain advantages and layered defenses, even five or eight thousand zombies could be worn down slowly—but just a thousand burning zombies could break through any defense!

(End of Chapter)